making things from scratch?

In an attempt to be more budget minded (and health conscious), lately I have taken to making some foods from scratch. I made my own yogurt for the first time...it was delicious and saved me $$$$..we go thru a lot of yogurt in my house.
The other thing I tried was homemade marshmallows....it was unbelievably easy and tasted out of this world.....nothing like the store bought stuff! and I know what is in it.....sugar, gelatin,corn syrup, and a touch of vanilla. nothing more. no unpronouncable junk!
my next project was going to be homemade ketchup. we love ketchup here and I hate HFCS! I also dislike paying $$$$ for high end organic brands just to get away from HFCS. I know, it's not possible to make everything from scratch, some things are time consuming and just not worth it, but even a little bit here and there will help the budget and our health too!
What do you all make from scratch?

I would also love the marshmallow recipe!
I make homemade bread and soup all the time...but never marshmallows. I also like to make homemade ice cream wtih the kids. We do the kick the can method. You take your ingredients and place in a small clean coffee can, then you duct tape it to death to keep the lid on. Then you place the small coffee can in a larger coffee can, fill in the space with ice and salt (makes it colder) put the lid on, duct tape again and send the kids out to kick it around the yard. I like to have them play kickball for about 15-20 min, then when they are all tired and hot, I bring out cones and we have wonderful ice cream in the backyard that they made themselves.

Now is a great time of year to make homemade tomato sauce. I don't garden myself, but I have friends that do and they always seem to have too many tomato's.

I make a pretty simple one with fresh tomato, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. I also like to add crushed red pepper to spice it up a bit. But honestly just let this simmer on the stove, add some water as everything starts to break down and then you can store it in jars to use later in the year. Obviously there are some tricks to canning, but it's not too difficult and you can find info on line.

I also like to make raw tomato sauces in the summer. Kinda like a salsa, but without the jalapeno kick. I use the same ingredients and instead of simmering on the stove just put on pasta and let the heat from the pasta warm it up. It's very refreshing.

I have a friend who's 2 year old just did this.. Not the homemade kind,I've heard of it happening to other kids too. The bad part is on the package there are no actual ingredients listed, it just says "perfume, fiber relaxers, etc" She had to call poision control and they sent her to ER with the bottle because no one was sure what was in it. I'd love the recipe for the homemade kind, at least then I'd know what was in it.
Her daughter is fine fortunatly... but yikes

In an attempt to be more budget minded (and health conscious), lately I have taken to making some foods from scratch. I made my own yogurt for the first time...it was delicious and saved me $$$$..we go thru a lot of yogurt in my house.
The other thing I tried was homemade marshmallows....it was unbelievably easy and tasted out of this world.....nothing like the store bought stuff! and I know what is in it.....sugar, gelatin,corn syrup, and a touch of vanilla. nothing more. no unpronouncable junk!
my next project was going to be homemade ketchup. we love ketchup here and I hate HFCS! I also dislike paying $$$$ for high end organic brands just to get away from HFCS. I know, it's not possible to make everything from scratch, some things are time consuming and just not worth it, but even a little bit here and there will help the budget and our health too!
What do you all make from scratch?

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I made homemade marshmallows for a fondue party many years ago - they were delicious!

I am wondering, though, what brand of corn syrup you use. The Karo brand corn syrup actually has HFCS in it and I haven't been able to locate any other brand yet (although I haven't searched too hard).

I have a friend who's 2 year old just did this.. Not the homemade kind,I've heard of it happening to other kids too. The bad part is on the package there are no actual ingredients listed, it just says "perfume, fiber relaxers, etc" She had to call poision control and they sent her to ER with the bottle because no one was sure what was in it. I'd love the recipe for the homemade kind, at least then I'd know what was in it.
Her daughter is fine fortunatly... but yikes

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You still won't know "exactly" what is in it.......

I use :
2tbs downy (or what ever softner you have)
2tbs rubbing alcohol
fill to the brim with good 'ol H2o

I made homemade marshmallows for a fondue party many years ago - they were delicious!

I am wondering, though, what brand of corn syrup you use. The Karo brand corn syrup actually has HFCS in it and I haven't been able to locate any other brand yet (although I haven't searched too hard).

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Wholesome sweeteners makes an organic corn syrup that's HFCS free and not too expensive. I found it at Target. Incidentally I was surprised to find agave nectar by the same brand, also at Target. I thought that was something that could only be found on the internet or in natural food stores!

Now is a great time of year to make homemade tomato sauce. I don't garden myself, but I have friends that do and they always seem to have too many tomato's.

I make a pretty simple one with fresh tomato, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. I also like to add crushed red pepper to spice it up a bit. But honestly just let this simmer on the stove, add some water as everything starts to break down and then you can store it in jars to use later in the year. Obviously there are some tricks to canning, but it's not too difficult and you can find info on line.

I also like to make raw tomato sauces in the summer. Kinda like a salsa, but without the jalapeno kick. I use the same ingredients and instead of simmering on the stove just put on pasta and let the heat from the pasta warm it up. It's very refreshing.

Click to expand...

Hi,
Can you walk me through this one. Do you dice up the tomoato before you put it in the pot? How much of each ingredient.

Homemade Pizza - honestly our paper posted you can make homemade pizza faster than take out - that did it, I was hooked - now my recipe has so evolved I dont measure - and buying ingredients at Sam's club (yeast!) I figure I make two large pans of pizza for $5!

2. Put it in the kitchen aide blender dough hook, mix, add 1 cup of flour at a time, make sure you pull up from the bottom - till not sticky - maybe 4 more cups - again, I dont really follow a recipe anymore!

3. knead - maybe 4 - 5 to make sure its all blended -

4. put in large buttered bowl (you can substitute olive oil for any of the butter I've listed) cover bowl with syran wrap

5. let rise - maybe 30 - 60 minutes - when its doubled, I take half and roll it out on my cutting board (9by 12 I think) and put it in the cookie sheet (the darker the better! - I spray the pans with Pam) let rise 2nd time - oh I spray the dough with more Pam and cover with syran wrap.. while rising I make the sauce -

I bake at 400 deg for 20 min or until brown and bubbly - I'm sure there are other better recipes out there - but use the fast rising yeast - and you can buy a HUGE bag of it for $5 whereas the stores sell it for $5 for 3 pkgs!